Steelhead Skien Questions, Seriously

[Guest Fishing For Life]

Hi guys,

 

yes, it is me, fishing for life again, bothering you guys for advices

 

after getting numerous helps from you all, I have been busy fishing at different rivers

for successes. I think i am getting better and better since I have not got skunked for a

little while and kinda getting to know where fish are held.

 

As i was worried about running low on my salmon/trout roes

(have not caught a female with eggs for 3 months, what a luck), i finally got this

little 4lb female with skein eggs. When i was debating whether I should keep the fish

for the eggs or not ... (i always milk loose eggs and never ever took fish for only eggs),

a gentleman beside seemed to know what I was thinking and offered to keep the fish after I took eggs. Thanks!

 

lots eggs were broken while tying roes ... and obviously there are those nasty goovy liquids

coming out .. very annoying and ceate mess. So, what should i do?

 

Question #1:

How should I cure them so that they will be as solid as river-cured salmon eggs?

(they are bouncy and hard!)

 

Questions #2:

How should I use skien eggs? Some said to tying skien with eggs and someon said not ... what should I follow?

 

Question #3:

I noticed that even some roes which were tied nicely and bouncy got all melt after a day of

outing and it was nasty ... Is it supposed to be like that or? Coz' I know my salmon roes never ever

become like that after couple outings ...

 

Thanks!

[fishindevil]

Well its usually best to cure them right in the water in which they came from...in a pair of nylons,or a small strainer for about 30mins.that will harden and cure them up,till you can do something else with them at a later time,i have done this many times,and it has never failed,but for skien thats tight,theres lots of things you can do to them and many ways to cure them,so im sure other members will let you know how to do this,i always used pro-cure powder,for my roe,or borax & pickling salt.for every person you will get a different answer....so hope this helps a bit, cheers & good-luck

[GbayGiant]

I like the raw stinky skein or eggs my self, you can tie it into bags by just cutting small pieces, mix it with your roe eggs if you want or simply put it on your hook how it is, it falls off but surprisingly stays on for a while and works great. Just keep it in the freezer all the time when not fishing, even when it gets really bad/stinky it still works good. I would say eggs/skein work better fresh with no curing. Don't be afraid to get messy or smelly, that's what fishing all about. Sorry, I can't even remember how to cure because I only did it one time so I could use single eggs directly on the hook. I think I just boiled it in salt water for a couple seconds.

[danc]

Cut the skein up with a pair of scissors (not your Mom's scissors) and tie them up. That gooey stuff is an added bonus. I've never "cured" eggs ever. I use them fresh and freeze the rest. When I'm out, I thaw them and tie up a new batch.

[canadian_copper]

NEVER CURE FRESH ROE. SCENT IS A HUGE FACTOR. LIKE THE GUYS SAID CUT IT INTO LITTLE CHUNKS AND ROLL. THE SKIEN ALSO HOLDS LOTS OF SCENT.

IF U WANT CURED ROE JUST GO BUY A JAR FROM A TACKLE SHOP. DONT WASTE A GOOD FRESH HENS ROE TO CURE. JUST MY OP.

[douG]

I hear that.

[kingofthesteelhead]

Borax powder sprinkled on the skein eggs after they are separated from the skein which can be a tedious job. They have their own sweet smell.They really work on fresh run fish. They haven't failed me yet this spring.

[ccmtcanada]

If you are not prepared to stream harden them like fishindevil said, pick up some distilled water at the grocery store...get it nice and cold and rinse it off. I've been told that tap water isn't good for them...although some have tried it with no problems.

[solopaddler]

If you are not prepared to stream harden them like fishindevil said, pick up some distilled water at the grocery store...get it nice and cold and rinse it off. I've been told that tap water isn't good for them...although some have tried it with no problems.

 

 

Sorry Cliff and fishindevil, but never, and I mean NEVER put water anywhere near skeined eggs LOL! (you'll ruin them!). Mature loose eggs, yes, skein absolutely not!

Dan pretty much had it bang on..

What I do with skein is either cut it up in small chunks with scissors as Dan mentiond, or if it's mature enough use a teaspoon and simply scrape it out of the membrane.

The next step is key, you MUST air dry it.

If it's too warm outside I'll leave it in a collander in the fridge with a bowl underneath for a couple hours turning it every once in a while.

Most of the time I'll use an old window screen though. Simply spread the eggs out on the screen and put it outside for up to an hour.

The eggs will develop a nice tacky shell and are much easier to tie up.

After air drying I separate the eggs into daily amounts, triple bag them in ziplocks with all the air sucked out and freeze them.

Yes they're messier to tie, but they leach out waay more scent than mature eggs and are generally much more effective.

[Spiel]

Sorry Cliff and fishindevil, but never, and I mean NEVER put water anywhere near skeined eggs LOL! (you'll ruin them!). Mature loose eggs, yes, skein absolutely not!

Dan pretty much had it bang on..

What I do with skein is either cut it up in small chunks with scissors as Dan mentiond, or if it's mature enough use a teaspoon and simply scrape it out of the membrane.

The next step is key, you MUST air dry it.

If it's too warm outside I'll leave it in a collander in the fridge with a bowl underneath for a couple hours turning it every once in a while.

Most of the time I'll use an old window screen though. Simply spread the eggs out on the screen and put it outside for up to an hour.

The eggs will develop a nice tacky shell and are much easier to tie up.

After air drying I separate the eggs into daily amounts, triple bag them in ziplocks with all the air sucked out and freeze them.

Yes they're messier to tie, but they leach out waay more scent than mature eggs and are generally much more effective.

 

 

....BINGO !

[Basskicker]

I shouldn't even post this.....this is all I ever use for salmon in the fall.

 

http://www.thefishingoddess.com/AngieEggCure_page.htm

 

Jason

[Gawel]

I too only will water harden loose eggs, skein never touches water. Sometimes I add some borax to the skeins for a bit before freezing, but prefer the natural stuff. When thawing out the skein, I find submerging it in VERY hot water (skein stays in the ziploc during the hot water thaw) allows the eggs to come off the skin much easier.

 

Some people like to suck the air out of a bag with a straw or with their mouths, but I find that submerging the ziplock bag 99% under water, with only the top of the bag exposed with a small opening in the bag allows me to get the air out very easily as the water pressure pushes the air out of the bag. When all the air has been removed, keep the bag under water, and zip the small unzipped portion up so that no air escapes.